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Mercedes rolls out AMG version of SL roadster: Autoweek TV

February 21, 2012

Also in this episode: General Motors talks partnership with French carmaker, Fiat honors Maserati with a special 500 and a pair of classic German cars head for the Desert Classic concours in Southern California.

TRANSCRIPT

-- First up today, Fiat pays homage to Maserati.

-- Then, GM considers taking on a partner in Europe.

-- And Mercedes-Benz gives us a first look at the AMG version of the SL roadster.

Hi, I'm Jake, and this is Autoweek TV for Wednesday. Let's take a look at the car news:

--

Fiat previewed a new version of the 500 on Tuesday. It's called the Abarth 695 Tributo Maserati, and we'll get a good look at it during the Geneva motor show.

This special-edition Fiat gets a new coat of paint in Bordeaux, 17-inch Maserati-inspired Neptun wheels and a decent bump in power to 180 hp.

The Tributo also gets a dual-mode exhaust that opens up at 3,000 rpm and a set of four-pot Brembo brakes.

No performance numbers have been released, but we'd like to see a GTI-JCW-Tributo race, PDQ.

--

General Motors, which is feeling stronger after its trip through bankruptcy, is looking for ways to turn around its troubled European operations.

One possibility is a production alliance with French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroën--which is also under severe financial stress as Europe's car sales keep falling.

Talks between the two automakers were confirmed on Tuesday by the French labor minister.

GM and PSA are said to be talking about joint production of cars and sharing of platforms and parts. That plan would cut the costs for both carmakers.

You can expect this to be a hot topic at the Geneva motor show.

--

The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team officially showed its new W03 in Barcelona on Tuesday.

Mercedes also used the event to give us a first look at the SL63 AMG, the go-faster version of the big roadster that was unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January.

Under the hood is a twin-turbo V8 that cranks out 329 hp yet gets better fuel economy than the previous SL AMG roadster. And there's a meaty 590 lb-ft of torque available at 2,000 rpm.

Mercedes says the SL63 AMG will run from 0 to 62 mph in about 4.3 seconds. That puts it on par with the latest BMW M6.

We'll see more of this car at Geneva.

--

That's the car news for today. We'll be back tomorrow.

But let's leave you with West Coast editor Mark Vaughn's preview of this weekend's Desert Classic concours in Rancho Mirage, Calif.